StarTalk Blog Post + Giveaway

Joel Cherrico has long drawn inspiration for his pottery from Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson and his show, StarTalk Radio. Last year, we wrote about many of the reasons why, in this blog post: “Art and Science: Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Thoughts.” To avoid repeating, here is a key point:

Dr. Tyson is a man of massive influence. He wrote for The White House newsletter, appears regularly on TV Talk Shows and his work in Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey was enjoyed by millions of people. He laid the groundwork of inspiration for Joel’s creation of, “Cosmic Mugs” which you can see in this early, goofy YouTube video:

Cherrico Pottery has been supporting StarTalk Radio on Patreon for years, to draw more inspiration from the cosmos, and then filter it into art. This past January, Joel and Sienna were given an amazing opportunity: take the perfect business trip to The Big Apple (StarTalk’s headquarters in New York City) to meet Dr. Tyson and the StarTalk Radio Team.

Photo by Justin Starr Photography

While in NYC, they also saw a piece of artwork that was another major inspiration for Cosmic Mugs: Vincent van Gogh’s historic masterpiece The Starry Night


StarTalk Blog

Thanks to the generous team at StarTalk, Joel was invited to publish a guest blog post titled, “Why ‘The Starry Night’ Is Universally Beautiful.” This blog reflects on several key ideas that help inspire Cosmic Mugs. These include how “Technology, Generosity and Kindness” have all helped create and sustain success for Cherrico Pottery.

Giveaway: $540 Value, 3 Winners, No Purchase Necessary

Please feel free to enter our newest giveaway, where three different people will each win one of “Our Best Cosmic Mugs.” Find all the details on how to enter by reading through Joel’s Blog on startalkradio.net, which can be found here: startalkradio.net/why-the-starry-night-is-universally-beautiful/

Dr. Tyson sipping wine from one of Joel Cherrico’s “Lunar Cups”….how cool! Photo by Justin Starr Photography

Vincent, Spock and Tyson: Cosmic Inspiration, Mug Giveaway and a Special Announcement

Enter the Cosmic Mug Giveaway

Expanded Consciousness feature_image_template, Vincent and Nimoy

Vincent van Gogh and Leonard Nimoy devoted their lives to creativity. They were artistic innovators. Vincent (who signed paintings with just his first name) created a new way to paint with expressive brush strokes. His troubled mind was plagued with epilepsy, but he found remarkable beauty in the world and showed it through paint.

640px-Starry_Night_Over_the_Rhone

Leonard Nimoy (AKA “Spock” from Star Trek) was an actor, film director, photographer, author, singer and songwriter. President Obama referred to him as, “a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his talent and his time.”

Leonard Nimoy in Vincent, Joel Cherrico Pottery Blog, my DVDLive long and prosper, Mr. Spock. Nimoy was also a huge fan of Vincent. He wrote and starred in a live theater performance where he played Vincent’s brother, Theo van Gogh. Nimoy performed this solo act across the country, and the DVD is now a collectors item.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is another advocate of both art and science. We sent him a few Cosmic Mugs, and he wrote us a couple nice letters in return! That’s pretty amazing, considering a man with over 4 million Twitter followers and his own TV show probably gets a ton of mail. Dr. Tyson said:

“I will definitely use and admire what you’ve sent. I’m gratified to be able to inspire the same enthusiasm for the universe, as I have.”

Tyson is a big fan of Vincent, as seen in this Tweet back in April:

Tyson is also a “Trekkie” (AKA Star Trek fan) as seen in this fan selfie:

neil-degrasse-tyson-and-leonard-nimoy-fan-selfie

I hope it can be seen, at least in an abstract way, that these inspiring people are helping my newest body of artwork explore more ways to positively influence society.

Starry night and cosmic mug in front of Galaxy Collision

August is Artist Appreciation Month, and I decided to give away some of my newest Cosmic Mugs to all of you, totally free:

Enter the Cosmic Mug Giveaway

A Special announcement…

Since we’re already talking about Christmas, it’s time to announce that I will have a HUGE batch of Cosmic Mugs available at HUGE price discounts, ready in time for the holiday season- hopefully by November 1st!

As more people sign up for my email list, the Cosmic Mug selling price will drop. This giveaway lets you share with friends and family to increase your chance of winning, while helping to lower the retail value of the mugs I can offer in time for Christmas. Hopefully, you all can get a truly amazing deal on my newest artwork, while helping me build a pottery studio that actually has heat and running water.

Cheers! LLAP!

Enter the Cosmic Mug Giveaway

Image 14, cosmic mugs in front of magellanic cloud and planetary nebulaFan-Image-and-Cosmic-Mug-planetary-Nebula-and-Molecular-cloud-cluster-hand-collage-home-page-Image-2

Here’s the sauce (AKA the sources):
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonard_Nimoy,_2011,_ST_Con-2.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vincent_van_Gogh_-_National_Gallery_of_Art.JPG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Starry_Night_Over_the_Rhone.jpg
http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2015/02/27/obama-statement-on-leonard-nimoy-spock/24136695/
http://persephonemagazine.com/2012/05/science-news-roundup-5112/neil-degrasse-tyson-and-leonard-nimoy/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Starry_Night
Copyright for Hubble Space Telescope Images of the NGC 2074 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Planetary Nebula NGC 5189, and the Galactic Spectacle STScI-2010-25: Space Telescope Science Institute, www.hubblesite.org